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Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Film Review: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Review) United States/2003
Netflix Streaming: No
Amazon Prime: No

Erin
(Jessica Biel), her boyfriend Kemper, Morgan, Andy, and Pepper (Erica
Leerhsen) are returning from Mexico and heading to a concert. After
almost crashing into her, the group pick up a confused hitchhiker. This
hitchhiker eventually reveals a gun and shoots herself - bringing this
group into a nightmare she couldn't escape from...

The Texas
Chainsaw Massacre is a gory slasher. The situation quickly escalates
after the bloody suicide. As the the group search for the sheriff, they
find old photographs, ritualistic objects, and disturbing human parts -
this helps create the dark mood for the story. Eventually, the group
slowly begins to separate, and two characters are introduced; the large
and intimidating Leatherface and the blunt, eccentric Sheriff Hoyt (R.
Lee Ermey). Leatherface brings the terror, suspense, and gore as he
wields his chainsaw and chases the group. The sheriff brings some dark
humor and tension with his tasteless dialogue and vulgar actions.
Thereafter, the story consists of gore, chases, and hiding. The path the
film follows is formulaic, which leads to a predictable yet satisfying
ending.

The story isn't perfect, however. There are quite a few
inconsistencies and moments that aren't logical (I suppose it wouldn't
be a slasher if it were.) The small inconsistencies may not be worth
pointing out - like the handgun that seemed to appear out of nowhere, or
the inability to use Leatherface's chainsaw against him, and small
annoyances like that. I won't fault the film too much as I feel like I'm
nitpicking. Other flaws in the story include the lack of detail and
explanation for certain scenes, and a empty feeling - the film moves at a
fast pace but ultimately feels like it lacks significant events, some
scenes feel disconnected.

The cast does a great job in this
film. Jessica Biel delivers a solid performance as the lead, and plays
the character well demonstrating happiness one moment and dread during
the next; she's also fantastic to look at. R. Lee Ermey is fantastic as
usual, he really plays his sinister character well. Although she's a
supporting actress, Erica Leerhsen delivers a weak, overacted
performance - maybe it's her character overreacting, but she just never
hits the right emotion. The cinematography is great, creating a dark
gritty vibe. The music works well with the film. The special effects are
very effective and graphic, this is a treat for gorehounds. Leatherface
has an intimidating design, which I really enjoyed.

Now, as a
standalone, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is great. As a remake, it
doesn't quite match the raw realism and disturbing content of the
original. The remake is overwhelmingly violent - as I said, a treat for
gorehounds - which in turn makes the film less realistic. For example,
the hitchhiker in the original is disturbing through his eccentric
dialogue and actions, while the remake has a hitchhiker that quickly and
violently kills herself. The original being much more believable than
the remake, I think these scenes alone show the difference in the film.
Another comparison is related to the chase scenes; whereas the original
has a chase scene that is dreadfully suspense as it is so close and
realistic, the remake uses a longer range between Erin and Leatherface
which lowers the tension and sets up the hide-and-seek scenes. I think
both work well, but the original chase scene is much more effective. As
for style, the remake is a more stylistic slasher with a dark, slick
atmosphere - its also clearly a remake as it uses a lot of gore,
jump-scares, and it's over-sexualized.

Overall, The Texas
Chainsaw Massacre is a great slasher - it's a gory and suspenseful
thrill ride that genuinely entertains. It doesn't live up to the
original, but that's okay because this remake really tries to develop
its own identity - it adds so much to the original story that it feels
like a new ride. I strongly recommend a purchase for fans of the genre, a
rental otherwise.